September 24, 2007

Florida Dems Approve Jan. 29 Primary

Florida Democrats sent a message to Howard Dean yesterday: It's our party, and we'll vote when we want to.

In officially bumping their presidential primary date up to Jan. 29, Florida Dems rebuffed the Democratic National Committee chairman's threats that they'd lost all their seats at the party's nominating convention next summer.

"We make this election matter. Not the D.N.C., not the delegates, not the candidates, but Florida Democrats like you and me voting together," Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Karen Thurman wrote in an e-mail. "We make it count.... The nation will be paying attention, and Florida Democrats will have a major impact in determining who the next President of the United States of America will be."

The state's decision to stick with Jan. 29, a date originally set by the GOP-controlled Florida Legislature, came amid strong pressure from national party leaders and the candidates themselves. Last month, the DNC voted to deny Florida all of its seats at the Democratic convention next year if the state party did not stick with the national party's nominating calendar and wait until after Feb. 5 to hold its vote. The top Democratic presidential hopefuls have also pledged not to campaign in the Sunshine State if it bucked the party's rules.

But fearful of a repeat of 2000, when Democratic voters claimed to be disenfranchised in Florida's contested presidential election, Thurman said "at the end of the day," state party leaders "came down on the side of having a fair and open election."

The Miami Herald, Orlando Sentinel and New York Times have more details on Florida's move and what it could mean for the Democratic race.

Posted at 9:36 AM
Posted to: Campaigns, Democrats, WH 2008
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